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Our Veterinarians

Dr. Penny Dye

Veterinarian, Co-Owner

Dr. Dye grew up on her family farm near Chappell, Nebraska. She first realized she enjoyed working with animals as a member of the Future Farmers of America organization, caring for lambs and cattle. Working on a farm also helped her learn the basics of running a business, a skill that would serve her years later as the Co-Owner of Dakota Hills Veterinary Clinic!

Penny attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to study Animal Science. She was accepted into The Ohio State University, where she obtained her veterinary degree. She got her first job at Dakota Hills in Rapid City. She has limited her scope of practice to small animals since 2006, and particularly loves the occasional challenge of a difficult surgical or medical case.

Dr. Dye lives with her husband Jack, who enjoys running their cow/calf operation, a 500-head commercial Angus herd. Their blue heeler, Sally, gets her greatest pleasure from herding cows. They also have a border collie named Josie and an Aussie named Roscoe, who both enjoy herding cattle in wide open spaces. In her spare time, Penny enjoys raising and riding her quarter horses.

Dr. Kami Ireland

Veterinarian, Co-Owner

Dr. Ireland grew up on a small cattle ranch east of Rapid City. Her parents came from humble beginnings, and instilled in Kami and her sister the importance of acquiring an education and working hard to achieve success. Dr. Ireland now combines that work ethic with her love of animals as a Veterinarian and partner in ownership at Dakota Hills!

In 1997, Dr. Ireland graduated from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska with a Bachelors in Biology. She attended veterinary school at Iowa State University—largely because the teaching hospital’s horses and foals reminded her of her ranch origins—and graduated with her DVM in 2001. Afterwards she joined the Dakota Hills team.

Kami especially loves dogs. No matter how poorly a day might be going, she can walk into an exam room with a dog and suddenly nothing else matters! She also enjoys surgery and says internal medicine is her favorite veterinary discipline.

At home, Dr. Ireland has an Australian Shepherd named Stone and a Border Collie named Jess. Three barncats also prowl around the property: Vicryl, PDS, and Catgut. When she’s not at the office, Dr. Ireland spends a lot of time preparing for and competing at barrel racing events. She also likes to jog, read, watch sports, and spend time with family and friends.

Dr. Curtis Stonecipher

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Stonecipher developed his love for animals while growing up in Rapid City around dogs, cats, horses, mules and chickens. He recognized the unconditional love and devotion animals provided and decided he wanted to be able to return the favor!

After high school, Dr. Stonecipher attended college in Coffeyville, Kansas and Arlington, Texas before returning to South Dakota and finishing his undergraduate degree at Black Hills State University. From there he was accepted into the class of 2000 at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, he received a job offer from Dakota Hills Veterinary Clinic and has practiced here as an Associate Veterinarian since then!

Orthopedic surgery is Dr. Stonecipher’s personal passion. It’s very satisfying for him to physically see the results of his efforts and how it improves the life of a pet.

Dr. Stonecipher’s wife, Julie, is a fourth grade school teacher with a Master’s Degree in Special Education. Their son, Carter, is in high school and enjoys baseball and football. Their daughter, Rylie, is in junior high and stays active in gymnastics and dance. The family has three Pointers: Cayenne, Hal, and Chili.

Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. Stonecipher’s hobbies include hunting, fishing, and old muscle cars. He also coaches his son’s sports teams and recently had a great time traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana for a regional baseball tournament.

Dr. Nichole Logan

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Logan commonly tells people she wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as she could remember. She decided she wanted to be a horse veterinarian in 1989, the year Secretariat died. Fast forward a few years—now she cares for pets of all shapes and sizes at Dakota Hills!

Nichole was born in Sturgis, South Dakota, and grew up in Hooker, Oklahoma. She knew she wanted to be a veterinarian from a very early age. As soon as school let out each summer, she returned to South Dakota where she worked cattle and rode horses on her uncle’s ranch near Faith, South Dakota. During summers after graduation, she worked at a small animal veterinary practice and continued to work there through her junior year of veterinary school.

Dr. Logan graduated from the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary medicine in 2003. She then did an internship with a reproductive specialist in Virginia. In 2004, she moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado where she completed a residency at Colorado State University in Equine Reproduction and was awarded a Master of Science in Equine Reproduction. She moved to Australia in 2007 and spent 2 seasons as a stud veterinarian with Scone Equine Hospital. After spending two years in Australia, she moved back to South Dakota and joined the caring team at Dakota Hills Veterinary Clinic.

In her spare time, Nichole likes riding horses, scuba diving, skiing, running, and pilates. She is currently pursuing her board certification in Theriogenology (reproduction). At home, she has three cats, Javier, Emily, and Rowdy, as well as three quarter horses named Lucey, Ivy and Josie. Josie’s story is Dr. Logan’s inspiration for becoming an equine reproductive specialist—ask Nichole to tell you about the long battle to own her!

Dr. Rachel Shutter

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Rachel Shutter has been working around animals all her life. She grew up on a Cheyenne, Wyoming bison ranch that her mother managed, and she started shadowing a local equine veterinarian when she was only nine years old. It didn’t take long for young Dr. Shutter to decide that working in the field of veterinary medicine would suit her well! She hasn’t looked back since—Dr. Shutter now cares for pets professionally as a licensed veterinarian.

Dr. Shutter earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wyoming, then headed to veterinary school at Washington State University to obtain her Doctorate. She couldn’t be happier to care for the pets and animal parents of Rapid City as one of Dakota Hills Veterinary Clinic’s Associate Veterinarians—Dr. Shutter has special passions for equine dentistry work and lameness evaluations, and also likes using critical problem-solving skills to diagnose a problem and reach a solution. For her, nothing beats coming up with a treatment plan that benefits everyone!

At home, Dr. Shutter lives with several pets of her own. Shadow is a black Labrador retriever who has been with Dr. Shutter since her high-school days, and Zeus the border collie/Labrador mix came to Dr. Shutter while she was completing her surgical rotations in veterinary school. She also owns a Quarter horse, Susie Q, as well as a Paint horse named Xena.

When she isn’t tending to pets’ needs here at the clinic or spending time on horseback, Dr. Shutter is an avid fan of rodeo and particularly loves attending her hometown rodeo, Cheyenne Frontier Days. She’s also fond of hiking, fishing, and camping in the great outdoors.